Compiled by Lim SK
Illustrated by Fu Chunjiang
Translated by Li En
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Ｃｏｎｔｅｎｔｓ
Prologue
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Origin and Development
Emergence and Formation
Nanxi in the Song & Yuan Dynasties
♦ Yuan zaju
♦ Chuanqi in Ming & Qing Dynasties
♦ Local Opera
♦ National Opera
♦ Modern Opera
Review / Questions
♦
♦
Opera Genres
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Beijing Opera
Kun Opera
♦ Yue Opera
♦ Huangmei Opera
♦ Sichuan Opera
♦ Ping Opera
♦ Shaanxi Opera
♦ Yu Opera
♦ Cantonese Opera
♦ Teochew Opera
♦ Gezai Opera
♦ Hainan Opera
♦ Liyuan Opera
Review / Questions
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Classical Repertoires
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Repertoires of Nanxi
♦ Repertoires of Yuan Zaju
♦ Repertoires of Ming-Qing chuanqi
♦ Other Famous Repertoires
Review / Questions
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♦
Character Roles and Makeup
in Chinese Opera
♦ Roles
in Chinese Opera
Review / Question
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The Art of Stage Performance
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♦
Costumes and Accessories
♦ Makeup
Performance on Stage
Backdrop and Props
♦ Opera Orchestra
♦ The Art of Performance
Review / Questions
♦
♦
Stories of Chinese Opera
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Pear Garden
♦ Deities of Theatre
♦ Opera Performers
♦ Proverbs on Chinese Opera
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Review / Questions
Conclusion
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Prologue
Wow, look! Their faces
are all painted up!
Little Dragon, don’t
they look strange?
Mike, this is called facial
makeup. From the colour
and type of makeup, we
can tell whether the
character is a good or
bad one.
He’s riding
a horse.
Why does the
actor wave the
whip in his
hand?
Chinese opera uses
symbolic actions.
For instance,
holding an oar and
rowing it indicates
that the character is
rowing a boat.
Swinging the hair indicates
grief and indignation while
shaking the beard indicates
anger.
Opera performers also make
use of exaggerated and
dramatic moves to express
their feelings.
Wow, this
is most
interesting! I
have many
more
questions!
No problem,
let’s start from
the beginning…
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Origin and Development
In this chapter, you will learn:
How did Chinese opera emerge and develop?
When did Chinese opera mature?
When was the golden period of Chinese opera?
What is “National Opera”?
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Chinese opera, together with
Greek tragedy and Indian Sanskrit
opera, are regarded as the three
oldest dramatic art forms in the
world.
Having gone through a long process of development
and change, Chinese opera has combined dance,
music, literature, poetry, singing and dialogue,
acrobatics, martial arts, and many other art forms to
create a unique form of acting which includes
“singing, speaking, acting and acrobatic fighting” and
is regarded as one of the treasures of Chinese
culture.
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Emergence and Formation
Primitive song and dance
Some believe that Chinese opera is
“telling a story through song and
dance” and the origin of this art form
can be traced back to song and dance
activities in primitive society. After
hunting, these ancestors would strike
on stones and wear animal skins to
disguise as animals and start dancing.
Even during the early days, primitive dance
already included makeup, props and even
musical instruments (stone striking).
Although this primitive form is still far from
opera, it somewhat possesses the
elements of Chinese opera.
Shaman’s sacrificial performances
In ancient sacrificial activities to the
gods, the shaman would invite spirits to
the mortal world and these spirits will
possess the shaman, like that of the
different roles played by actors in
opera.
Does it mean that the
shaman is regarded
as the earliest actor in
primitive times?
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Pantomimic performance
During the pre-Qin period, there existed a type of professional actor known as
a pantomimist. They would talk and act comically to entertain the audience.
Some of these performances were held within the palaces with the king as the
main audience. These pantomimists would sometimes tactfully admonish the
king in the form of jokes.
Although the performances by pantomimists
were not formally considered as opera, the
cracking of jokes and comical talk had an
influence on the development of Chinese
opera.
Performing figurines
in the Han Dynasty
show what some of
the pantomimists
look like.
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You Meng’s Disguise
During the Spring and Autumn
Period, there was an actor by the
name of You Meng who often gave
advice to King Zhuang of Chu in the
form of jokes.
When You Meng knew about
this, he wore Sun Shuao’s
clothes and pretended to be
like him in front of the king.
Premier Sun Shuao was a remarkable
official but when he died, his family
was very poor and his son
had to collect firewood for
a living.
Does this mean that
Sun Shuao has
come back to life?
You shall be the
premier!
Your Highness,
I will need to
discuss this
with my wife.
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A few days later,
You Meng told the
king:
My wife advised
me not to be the
premier of Chu.
Being honest and
devoted, Sun
administered the
country very well
when he was the premier.
However, his son is so
poor that he has to rely
on collecting firewood
for a living. Isn’t this
better off dead than
living?
Oh, I have
overlooked
this matter.
The king gave Sun Shuao’s son a piece of
land so that his family could lead a
prosperous life, generation after generation.
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Chinese wrestling opera
In the Han Dynasty, there existed a form of theatrical performance known as
“Chinese wrestling”. Chinese wrestling was originally known as a strengthcompeting skill but a story plot was incorporated later and became known as
Chinese wrestling theatre
.
The story of “Lord Huang of the
Eastern Sea
” was a
Chinese wrestling theatre classic
in which the focus was on
acrobatic fighting. But at that
point of time, this ancient opera
type already had fixed roles (two
actors, one was Lord Huang and
the other was a tiger), characters
had specific costumes and
makeup, and performed
according to the plot.
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